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one more thing. i will be riding typical minnesota terrain: forests , trails etc. i know there are better trail machines than what i'm looking at but i really one that power i had.

 

bigsled, you are getting back into the swing of things at a great time! The new 450's are no joke. They all handle great, and have way better suspension than that old R you are reminiscing about. The 4 strokes definately hook up better, but plenty of power for donuts if that is your thing. Getting the back end loose and sliding around a turn is a peice of cake, these are race quads after all. Go to a dealer and start one up. They rev VERY quickly, alot like a high performance streetbike. I have an old school LT250R, not as good handling as your old R, but she can be a little squirrely in the rear end like you mention. My brother also used to have a well built '87 LT. I can say for a fact that compared the Quadracers are not as fun as the YFZ's we currently own. Throw a pipe and intake on any of the new 450's and you are pushing just under 50HP at the crank. Your main problem may be size. Try them all out, and keep in mind Kawasaki has a 450 with efi, reverse, and an aluminum chassis due this fall. Also, the new Raptor 700R shares some suspension components with the YFZ, has efi, and is likewise very potent. It is a lot plusher than the 450's, and the frame may be more comfortable for a bigger guy. The suspension isn't as advanced, but you could throw on YFZ new takeoffs pretty cheaply. I have a little track time on the 700R, it is a great quad, much improved over the 660 it replaced. Good luck, and if you find a way to get your wife into it, let me know, K?

 

I think Scooter covered most of what I would have said. But I'd just like to add that if you really liked your 250R it is probably going to be possible to find another one. However the new 450s are faster and handle better.

 

d

 

Stock both the Honda and Yamaha '06 models are faster, but trust me when I say that the earlier ones are not slouches either. Honda totally redesigned the '06 motor to be more like the bike motors, while Yamaha only made some small tweaks, some of which you can update an earlier one with. Of the 2, the Yamaha has a harder(more 2-stroke like) hit to it. My brother bought an '04 used last year, it has been a great quad so far, only operator induced problems for the most part. The 400 class machines also have plenty of power for donuts and such. If $$ comes into play, look into the Z quads. On tight trails with equally skilled riders you would have a hard time shaking one of these guys. I still like the 700R too.